The Beast Is An Animal
by Peternelle Van Arsdale Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 978-1-4814-8841-9 Picture it, a book store, a girl on a hunt for Beauty and the Beast novels, and there it was a gorgeous book cover titled, "The Beast Is An Animal". She was drawn to it immediately, and the disappointment that it had NOTHING to do with Beauty and the Beast, lasted about five seconds. It only took five seconds for the creepy poem on the back of the novel to catch my attention. And, if you've followed my book reviews, than you know the last book with a creepy poem on the back ended up being one of the best books I've ever read. three-dark-crowns.html Taking a leap of faith I held onto this, hopeful that it might be a good Halloween read. With a poem with lines like this, "The Beast is an animal/ Hear It scratch upon your door/ It sucks you soul then licks the bowl/ And sniffs around for more" I would certainly hope it gives off Halloween vibes. The story revolves around a girl named Alys who at the age of seven lost her family and her home. The Soul Eaters came, but she was not touched, nor were any of the children in her village. Why was Alys spared when she had looked upon the Soul Eaters? A question she wonders daily. Rumors of her being found awake after the attack, began to fuel gossip that she herself was no good. A vile creature. The world in which Alys lives is very old timey. I got a very Scarlet Letter vibe from the townspeople's dialect, clothing, and especially their religious guidelines. Basically this a time where anything out of the ordinary must mean witchcraft. You don't bare children? Probably a witch or cursed. You use medicine instead of prayers- you're a witch. You get the picture. So it should come as no surprise that this book has prevalent hints of Good vs Evil and what one can do to be considered one or the other. And definitely how we perceive ourselves. This girl has a connection to the Soul Eaters and The Beast that they sing poems about and the churches preach against. She hides this from all, battling it slowly within herself, terrified of what the others might do, or what her loved ones would think of her. And the Soul Eaters are causing more damage to the world of Byd than merely taking souls. As this threat grows, Alys is running out of time to confront her inner abilities and fight for all that she loves. In the darkest hours of the world, where Alys has seen little joy and kindness, she is terrified that she deserves the bad, or has somehow caused it, by having an unholy connection to these creatures. Can Alys make a change to save the world of Byd or is she damned to darkness? I loved this book so much! And I got a bonsu experience: these Soul Eaters hunt at night, and whilst I was reading this book, it's about 3 a.m., and the lights started sputtering until finally we lost power in the house. It didn't last long, but when the lights inside came back on, my neighborhoods street lights were all out... I put the book down for the night, lol! This book is very profound, and the first this author has written, though I hear she has more books in the works, and I eagerly await what she will bring to book lovers. I hope you guys enjoyed this book and find the topic of Soul Eaters fitting for a Halloween season read. And as always read on my fellow book worms, may we one day have Belle's Library!
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Ruined
by Paula Morris Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 978-0-545-23607-2 This is the third book in the 2017 Halloween Book Review Series! I love doing these because this is my favorite Holiday! I try and pick books that revolve around topics that fit the Halloween vibe- murder mysteries, ghost stories, monsters, etc. (I mean, some people I know only read those type of books during this time year.) Now with Ruined by Paula Morris, we have a slight mix of genres. This novel is marketed as a ghost story but I gotta say it's not going to be exactly what you're expecting when you hear 'ghost story'. However, there are mysteries and clues at every turn. And I did NOT see it unfolding the way it did! This story takes place in New Orleans. [[And for anyone who is an Originals fan there's ONE sentence in this book that mentioned vampires and I laughed really hard.]] Our main character is Rebecca, a fifteen year old girl, whose father takes a job in China and sends her to live with her aunt in New Orleans for a year. This is a far cry from her home in New York, and she protests at every step of the way. To make the adjustment harder her Aunt Claudia is a very eccentric woman who reads tarot cards for a living. There are even rumors that she's a descendant of a voodoo priestess. As if all these changes weren't enough for Rebecca she also must attend a new school, all girls, with a hideous uniform, and a very strange social order. Instead of your typical jocks vs nerds we find "Old Families" aka old money running the show, even being able to overrule teachers because their parents are so influential. So where does this ghost come into play? Did I forget to mention that Rebecca is now living directly across the street from an old cemetery? On one particular night of rule breaking, Rebecca sneaks into the cemetery and meets a very peculiar black girl about her age. (Now I mention her race because it is relevant to the story, see Lesitte has been dead for over 150 years. I don't need to go into a history lesson for people to understand the significance of heritage back then.) Thinking that this bare footed, ripped shirted teen is homeless, Rebecca seeks her out, only to discover that Lesitte is a ghost and no one else can see her. At least that's what she thinks. She learns how the spiritual world works, mostly ghosts who were murdered or have some sort of unfinished business remain until things are sorted out. For some this never happens. Correspondingly, Lesitte is not the only character in this book who has a long complicated history riddled with mystery. I know, that rhymed. The Elite children of these Old Families all have their own secrets/rules and keep to their 'own'. They look down on Rebecca and do their best to put her down and keep her "in her place". All except Anton Grey, a kind young man, who struggles between wanting to be more/do more, and not disappointing hundreds of years of family traditions. Old Families are friends with Old Families, their children grow up together, they keep the same secrets, and throw the same parties. His interest in Rebecca does not sit well with these families. But as supernatural events occur and more clues are laid out, Rebecca may just find herself in the worst episode of Murder She Wrote she could ever imagine. With so much at stake, will the clock run out and if it does, who will you have to say goodbye to? I'm LOATHE to leave you with so little information! But like I said I DID NOT see the ending coming, and I fear that anything more I would say would help unravel the events as you yourself read this novel! I also want to mention that the links to the authors pages are listed below and if you follow the Goodreads button pay CLOSE attention to the list of books she's written! Read on my fellow book worms, may we one day have Belle's Library! Dream Magic by Joshua Khan Book review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 9781484737620 I waited so long for this book to come out and even longer to share a review on it! I do try and limit my reviews on book series, that way I'm not just posting about all the books in the series. But since I did Shadow Magic for last years Halloween review series I thought it would be fun to once again bring attention to this series. Joshua Khan has really created the perfect universe with such a great balance of plot twists and emotional highs and lows.
First off, this is the second book so I don't recommend jumping into the the series on book two. You could, I mean Khan does a good job of recapping, but you won't fully understand the love and loss that's necessary for the emotional connection of these characters! If you haven't read Shadow Magic or my review on it I'll just recap what the world is about here: There are six kingdoms that, at one point in time, stemmed from one family. Every ruler must be able to wield magic, if they cannot the next in line would take the throne. Though, admittedly, magic appears to be dying in this world and less and less people are capable of using magic, much less cast any useful spells. In the main heroine's family, her Uncle could not wield magic and therefore the throne went to her father- the younger of the siblings. Women are banned from wielding magic, due to an ancient belief that witches bring on disaster. So when tragedy strikes her family, Lilith Shadow is placed on the throne, but in order to really solidify her right to the throne she must marry a nobleman who can wield magic. It's also important to note that Lilith Shadow is the ruler of Castle Gloom and the kingdom of Gehenna. The darkest "scariest" kingdom in all the realms, a kingdom where zombies, ghosts, and vampires are not just a regular part of their world, but run in the royal family itself! Now, book two starts after Lilith's place on the the throne has been excepted, though the marriage proposal's still flow like honey. HERE'S WHERE I GIVE YOU SPOILER ALERTS. IF YOU PLAN ON READING THE FIRST BOOK YOU MAY WANT TO STOP HERE OR AT LEAST GO READ MY FIRST BOOK REVIEW. http://pickupabooktoday.weebly.com/young-adult-fiction/shadow-magic I'm not sure how many spoilers I can avoid! Lilith has not only solidified her place on the throne but she has also begun practicing her magic with a great teacher by her side. Due to the events that took place in the first book, zombies have increased ten-fold what they were before in Gehenna. Lilly tries hard to give them all positions and something to do, because, as she says, alive or dead they are her people. But ultimately it becomes the least of her concerns when her citizens are turning up missing right out of their homes! And an ancient enemy of their people, the trolls, have a new king leading them. Leading them right into war against her kingdom! Thorne, the main hero of this series, sets out to find out how these people are disappearing. He doesn't believe that the trolls are responsible. After all Trolls are huge, there would be more proof than holes in roofs and missing farmers. While in the midst of unraveling the mysterious disappearances it turns out their kingdom has a new enemy altogether. In seeking out how to defeat him and what it is he wants, Lilly uncovers family secrets she'll wish she hadn't. With magic dwindling in the world, kingdoms at war and no safe way to practice her magic- is it possible for Gehenna to have a happy ending? And what will it mean for her future when the rumors are getting harder to quiet and everyone becomes convinced she is a witch? Dream Magic is a wonderful continuation and I am EXTREMELY EXCITED for the next book Burning Magic coming in 2018!!! Read on my fellow bookworms, may we one day have Belle's library! And as always, links to the author's pages are below. The Ghost of Graylock
by Dan Poblocki Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 978-0-545-40269-9 It's back! My lovely book worms and Halloween fanatics alike! Halloween Season is upon up and thus the return of my Halloween Book Review Series. Now, I want to be clear that I am posting this under young adult but it is probably more on the children's/middle school reading level. I saw many complaints on Goodreads about this book being shelved as a young adult so I thought I'd clear that up right away. When I first heard about this book I was so excited! I had just come off the high of the last Poblocki book I read for last years Halloween Series. The reviews all said that if I loved The Stone Child than this one was the next book to read. Though, not exactly what I expected, it was very good ghostly read. To Begin with, this is another one of Poblocki's mysteries that will have the hair on the back of your neck standing! While I don't feel like it is as complicated or layered as Stone Child, it certainly made for a great haunt/mystery. Graylock Hall is an insane asylum, for lack of a better term, located in the woods of a small little town called Hedston. Everyone has heard the story of the nasty Nurse Janet who haunts the, now abandoned, place looking for new victims to drown. Everyone's heard about it except for Neil and Bree Cady, the new kids in town. They came to the tiny town of Hedston to spend the summer with their aunts, due to difficulties at home. When the tale of Graylock reached Neil's ears, he knew he had to see it for himself. Being an avid ghost fanatic, he could not wait to explore Graylock and find out for himself if the haunting was real or a hoax. But was he ready for what he was about to get himself into? After a dangerous trip to Graylock Hall Bree and Neil have been having vivid nightmares, finding pond weed in strange places, even finding puddles on their bedroom floors. There had to be a logical explanation for all these things, right? Well, perhaps, but none that is logical in the typical sense. A haunting is indeed happening, but when they discover that the ghost chasing them isn't Nurse Janet, everything changes! Who is this ghost and what exactly does she want from the two of them? Neil and Bree are accompanied by their new friends, Wesley and Eric Baptiste. Together they explore Graylock and unravel the mystery that has been forced upon them. Now, I really don't want to go too much into this. This is a small town and any and all details and characters could easily give away the plot twist of this mystery! I'd hate for that to happen. What I will say is the first half is very intense, as the haunting begins and you're left worrying about what's going to happen! The second half is also intense but for a different reason, less because of the ghost and more because of the ticking clock. If you're looking for a ghost story where they don't rip the mask off the ghost all Scooby-Doo-Style then this will make a great read for you this Halloween Season! As always read on my fellow book worms, may we one day have Belle's Library! The links to the author's pages are included below. |
YA Fiction Reviews |